Break
by Tynesider
Summary: A mistimed jump leads to Sheila breaking her ankle, luckily help isn't too far away. OneShot.


The minute Sheila began to fall she knew that she was in trouble.

For years now she had been power jumping, a fun distraction from day to day life wherein she used the momentum from a previous jump to launch herself up to twenty feet in the air, which provided a brief kick of adrenaline to push her onwards as she went about her business. She had been doing this without event ever since she had discovered the benefits of a turbo-charged leap into the sky, but now it appeared that this clean safety record was about to be tarnished.

She began to realise that jumping may have been a mistake as she reached the apex of her climb. It was a blustery day with a fierce southwesterly wind attacking the Alps she resided in, but she was confident that her fine-tuned sense of balance would counteract the crosswind. But as she rose into the air the wind began to push her around, ruining the positioning that would save her from serious injury. As her climb peaked and she began to descend she did her best to steady herself, but with nothing to push off other than thin air she was left to flail madly in the hope that it would push her back into position.

She descended further and further, picking up speed as each second passed. She could feel her heart creep up her gullet as the ground drew closer, and with no other options she positioned her feet for landing and hoped that she would come away unscathed. Experience meant she hit the ground with her feet in exactly the right position, but the wind meant her weight was miles away from the equilibrium that prevented serious damage.

She felt the pain before she heard the crack. Both of them came from her right ankle, and seconds after impact she collapsed to the floor as the intense sting of broken bone and muscle consumed her. She instinctively curled into a foetal position and tried to suppress the pain building in her foot. Small tears formed in the corner of her eyes and her teeth clamped together with the intensity of a vice, but almost as soon as it had flared the pain subsided into numbness.

Sheila pushed herself upright with trembling arms, traumatised by the shattering of her ankle. Seeing her injury for the first time made her want to vomit; the misshapen, protruding lump above her foot making her lip quiver threateningly. Swallowing her nausea, she forced herself to breathe calming breaths. She had committed an act of stupidity and had broken a bone, but what was done was done and now she had to deal with her predicament. She needed a doctor, but she doubted she could move in order to find one. Gingerly she applied weight to her broken joint, and recoiled with a sharp scream as a bolt of pain shot through it. Panting, she begrudgingly admitted that she was stuck.

"Billy!" she shouted to the peaks, "Pete! Bobby! Can you hear me?"

Silence was the only response to her plea.

"Boys? Are you there?" she shouted again, "I need some help!"

She waited again for a response, willing her ankle to move with gentle jerks of her leg but receiving no reaction. Her cries, however, appeared to have drawn the attention of a figure who was quickly making his way over to her. Sheila smiled out of relief, but that smile faded into fear as the approaching figured morphed into the shape of a creature she didn't want to see: a Rhynoc.

Frantically she began to propel herself backwards using her arms, swallowing the stings of pain from her broken ankle as it was dragged through the grass. "Billy! Pete! Bobby!" she screamed again, becoming aware that the Rhynoc was gaining ground. Under any other circumstances she could annihilate the dumb creature, but being unable to stand and her kicking abilities reduced to one foot...it wasn't even a contest. She continued to push herself back, but as the clock ticked on the features of the Rhynoc became clearer, as did the heavy club he wielded in his hand.

A sudden jolt of pain as her broken joint scraped a rock was enough to stop her in her tracks, and this allowed the Rhynoc to narrow the gap between them to mere centimetres. Desperately, Sheila lashed out at him with her good foot, but stupid though the creature was it could evade her attacks with a simple side-step. She knew her efforts were in vain, and as she watched the Rhynoc raise his club above his head she braced herself for the worst.

The blow from the club never arrived. It was cancelled out moments before the Rhynoc swung by another, larger club made of crystal slamming into his side as it flew through the air, firing him away from her and into the distance. The event made Sheila yelp in shock, but the initial feeling of fear was replaced by that of elation as she realised the danger was gone. She looked around for her saviour, and spotted him as he went to retrieve his slightly bloodstained club.

"Bentley!" she breathed happily.

"That's my name," Bentley replied in his pristine English, shooting her a warm smile.

"What're you doing here?"

"Just paying you a visit. I apologise for not informing you in advance, but this morning I realised I haven't seen you in a while and decided to surprise you."  
>"Well it's the best surprise I've ever had," Sheila said gratefully, "Thanks for that. I was in real trouble."<p>

"Why so? I thought you terrorised the Rhynocs around here."

"Well..." Sheila said tentatively, gesturing at her disfigured leg. Bentley seemed to yelp as he saw the wound.

"Ahh," he said, wincing slightly, "Did the Rhynoc do that to you?"

"Nope, did it to myself," Sheila laughed, though there was no humour in her tone, "I shouldn't be power jumping into the wind; if anything I got what I deserved."

"Well deserved or not we need to get that treated by a professional," Bentley said, "Where's the nearest doctor?"

"In Cloud Spires, but I genuinely can't walk."

"That shouldn't be a problem," he smiled, "When you've got friends like me who needs legs?"

He reached forward and gently wrapped his muscular arm around Sheila's body, lifting her up effortlessly and taking care not to aggravate her swelling ankle.

"Bentley, you don't..." Sheila protested, but the feeling of him carrying her away told him he wasn't going to listen.

"I don't what? Don't have to carry you?" Bentley asked rhetorically, "That would mean leaving you out on the grass. I might club Rhynocs over the head but I'm not that heartless!"

He began to laugh heartily, swinging his club with the dexterity and ease of a professional juggler. Sheila watched the acrobatic show from over his shoulder, admiring the twinkling cobalt as it battered the air around it. The scent of his musty fur filled her nostrils and the gentle pace of his walking seemed to lull her into a numbness akin to that of her damaged foot. Closing her eyes she let her senses absorb the soothing feel of Bentley's motions. She felt a strange feeling wash over her, though despite its alien qualities it provided her with a warm sensation that clouded out the iciness of her broken leg.

She let herself sink deeper into his fur, letting the soft tendrils cradle her broken nerves. A lot had happened in the last twenty minutes, many of them happening far too quickly for comfort, but secretly she hoped that this would last for as long as it possibly could.


End file.
